Capturing Television History, One Voice At A Time

Della Reese

Performer

"People need something to help them with their lives. In 'Touched by an Angel,' we didn't tell you what to do. If you were distraught and at a place where you felt there was nothing else to do, we would make a suggestion: "Did you ever think about it like this? It doesn't have to be that way. You can change your mind and change your life." It gave people at home, in the privacy of their homes, a chance to know that they too, could change their minds and change their life."

About This Interview

In her two-hour Archive interview, Della Reese speaks about her start as a singer at age thirteen touring with gospel legend Mahalia Jackson. She talks about the struggles in her early career (and such highlights as touring with Nat King Cole). She touches upon her first appearances on television, notably on The Ed Sullivan Show, for which she appeared 17 times. She talks about her appearances on The Merv Griffin Show and The Mike Douglas Show, and how both hosts broke barriers for African-Americans in television. She speaks in great detail about her own talk/variety series The Della Reese Show, commenting on markets the show played in and listing memorable guests. She describes her roles on the sitcoms Chico and the Man and Welcome Back, Kotter, joining both series mid-run. She recounts the time when, in October 1980 during a taping of the Tonight Show, she suffered a brain aneurysm. She describes her work as a regular on the series The Royal Family and relates the story of the tragic demise of series star Redd Foxx, after a collapse on the set. Lastly, she discusses the series for which she is most identified, Touched By An Angel, elaborating on the spiritual nature of the show, identifying memorable guest stars, and commenting on how CBS viewed the show. Beth Cochran conducted the interview in Los Angeles, CA on June 13, 2008.

i am so happy that
Della Reese was a great friend red fox its so sad how he was treated thank the Lord that he had a friend the truth how things really was on the set enough to fit how he was treated bye unprofessional so call trainersin the show busines was born with talent so therefore no one can teach him how to perform on stage rest in peace Red foxx that's why God put us in certain areas in life. Mr foxx brought so much talent to so many talented young men Martin Lawrence Eddie Murphy just to name a few.

Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 2013-04-30 22:55.

I want to meet Della Reese

Submitted by Jared Walker on Sat, 2012-06-09 05:06.

I met her in Palm Springs in 2007. Very inspirational lady and the nicest person you will ever meet. It was an honor to meet her.

Submitted by Darren Quello on Thu, 2012-02-23 08:22.

Della Reese is AWESOME!!! A great talent and a Beautiful person!!! I love this lady!!!